John Saldivar attacks free media (Patrick Andrews and Plus TV)

Belmopan-based Plus TV is being sued for libel by the area representative, Minister John Saldivar over a response made by Rise and Shine co-host, Patrick Andrews to a question posed by Minister of Education, Patrick Faber late last year. Now, libel suits are considered par for the course to media houses, but Louis Wade and Andrews have gone public on why the legal challenge is heading to the courts. Saldivar, says Wade, made a number of requests to avoid court action, but at least one he said he could not live with. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Popular talk show hosts Luis Wade and Patrick Andrews of Plus TV’s Rise and Shine morning show have been named as litigants in a lawsuit brought by Minister of National Security John Saldivar. The suit at hand is the result of a conversation between Andrews and his guest Minister of Education Patrick Faber, during an episode in which he opined on the disbursal of public funds in Saldivar’s constituency. Andrews’ statement has since been construed as fact, prompting Saldivar to seek redress for libel.

Luis Wade

Luis Wade, Managing Director, Plus TV

“I was out of the country and at that time Mr. Andrews was holding over the entire show. And so, essentially, this case arises out of what the claimant is saying, that there were specific statements that were mentioned, by this very same individual, that he considers to be defamatory.”

Those remarks, according to Saldivar, in an affidavit prepared by Courtenay Coye LLP, infer that he is engaged in corruption and, by extension, criminal activity as an elected official. Prior to being served with a summons, Wade was asked to honor a list of requests made by the area representative in lieu of legal action. Those demands, he says, are unrealistic.

Patrick Andrews

Luis Wade

“He was very specific as to what he wanted in the initial request. So in the initial request there were four conditions. The first condition was an apology in the same manner that it was given, so it would have been on Rise and Shine, which for us as a media house with Judeo Christian principles, even if you have not done something wrong or even if an associate has not done something wrong our Christian principle is if a person feels that they have been hurt [then] there is no problem to apologize. And so this is not an issue, as we see it, as it pertains to retraction in itself. The problem existed in the three other requests that came with [it], if we did not want to go to court there were three other requests that we had a problem with One was that considering that we did not see the statements as libelous in any way, he wanted that no other such types of statements be made and this is a live talk show with call-in guests, call-in people, as well as co-hosts going live. And so, essentially, since our lawyers and our media house believe and now that it’s not libelous it’s difficult to agree, okay such comments cannot be aired again.”

Likewise, Wade says that on more than one occasions Saldivar requested Andrews’ removal as co-host of Rise and Shine.

John Saldivar

Luis Wade

“The minister has voiced on numerous occasions that he would like one of the co-hosts of the program, specifically Patrick Jason Andrews, off the show to be removed. Certainly because Plus Television is an independent media house and by every right and reason we are the ones who should determine who our hosts and our journalists are and so we found it to be particularly problematic but it has been ongoing and I think it was shortly after one of the last requests was made that it began to escalate to where it is now. And so, essentially, we feel that to not go to court then he wants already financial compensation [and] those things, I believe, are settled in court. So especially if now we have to negotiate with a person who we know from the very beginning, we know what he wants, which is to remove a particular person off the show.”

The crux of the matter, says Wade, is an opinion that was shared by a talk show host on the actions and decisions of a public figure as it pertains to fiduciary duties.

Luis Wade

“This has to do with an individual that clearly states at the beginning of his sentence that this is an opinion and not a statement of fact and it is a comment on how a public figure distributes or uses or creates policy in the spending of public monies. And so, I believe that the entire nation of Belize should be interested in this case because it is an opinion on how a public, government official spends the people’s money.”

While a court date, as well as remedies, remain to be set, Patrick Andrews has retained the services of Musa and Balderamos. Plus TV, on the other hand, is in the process of securing its legal representation. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.

am no christian but if i am attack my minsiter verbally and politically…i would attack violently and physically…what minister think? they are God? not to me….i would die for my country, use your imagination…

it is no secret that all ministers are thiefs…but PUP and UDP….all dem hustle….or have their cronies benefit…

PLUS TV should use the Freedom of Information ACT, and request Government to show how ministers used the money that was given to them before the General Elections and every xmas for ministers to buy the people with ham, turkey and apples….or if Saldiver feels clean, please show a detail report on how he spend the money he was given…..can i get Salvipe reponse???

To quote Prime Minister Look the other way while the foxes are in the hen house Barrow “If it weren’t so serious, it would be laughable”. It is laughable because the little girl of a certain law enforcement agency of this country (you know who and I won’t say for fear of being forced to bow down and sued outside of A COURT OF LAW) got mad because they simply held a mirror up and she didn’t like what she saw. The poor little girl must still be crying in one of her two mansions and for all this it is laughable. But not to “Tek bad ting mek joke” I find this girl sobering to say the least as she is taking vindictiveness to a level that dwells in the realm of tyranny. He is forcing the media to be silent… Come on Johnetta we all know of your election defeat when certain people were ordered to the offices of the then Recondev to shred documents (hmmm what could they have been hiding???) or is it that your convictions are so fragile they cannot stand in opposition to theirs? Anyways you are all a corrupt species of misguided humanity, which in factual reality is just the nature of all you two faced politicians. You cannot change your nature anymore than a snake can stop slithering across the ground. But what angst me the most is not so much the brazenness of your personal retribution it is the fact that you are acting like a monarchial princess who’s feelings has been compromised and will bring all her tyrannical power to bear in order to avenge her bruised little ego. Little girl your line of work is a sport for soulless and ruthless men and cold as iron women and it has no room for little princesses such as yourself. So if you can’t play the game without crying because you fragile ego got bruised I would advise you to get out of the shark tank. It is disconcerting to know that you are placed in a position of almost absolute power for he who rules the jailers rules the jail. I am inclined to believe that you were intentionally sewed into this diabolical tapestry that we call a government and placed intentionally on the edges as you would be the softest thread with the highest possibility of fraying. Put a weak pawn in front on the board while the kings and queens pillage with wanton abandonment in the foreground. You little princess are the most fairest and qualified of them all. The crime rate in this small little country speaks volumes to bolster support for your ineptness. You my friend have so much time on your hands that you have the time to try to start a cat fight. Make sure you get your nails done before the scratching starts you little tyrannical princess you. Oh and I see the mentally challenged do keep company as the dumb@$$ mayor of your constituency makes all the same stupid decisions as you. If he is not out driving around finding new ways to bilk poor people out of their living he is issuing a new trade license for another Chinese store in Belmopan for which we don’t have any space or market; for a nominal fee I may venture to think. Talk about market, Mayor Young (as the bigoted tourism minister refers to him) wants to move the market out to the show grounds so poor people can lose more money. Maybe the vendors should pool together and order some Chinese slaves to work for them and maybe that way the power that be will start treating the vendors like first class citizens.

I totally agree with free Press and people of Belmopan all know who is Patrick Andrews. A jackass who for some reason or the other think he is smart and hiding behind the vail of Christianity.
All he is doing on Plus TV is pushing himself and his political agenda.

On the other hand if i was the Minister i would not have gone so far as to sue the station. It can do much more bad than good for him in Belmopan.

And lastly christian or no christian Louis Wade da wa fool! From school days when he was a teacher at Compre if you no deh on his page and his beliefs he considers you as totally against him….

There is much rosewood to be given away, Hezbollah passports for those in a hurry.
late night landings at the airport for those who have paid.
child killers on the road.
A lawless country that cannot rule itself, therefore gangs must rule the nation.
The jewel is theirs, until it is sold to Guatemala in a private auction.
To accommodate the apathetic and illiterate residents of former British Honduras, the new Guatemalan passports will be stamped Belize instead of Belice.

WISH PLUS TV THE SO-CALL CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION WOULD NOT SHOW THEIR TRUE COLOR BY THE HATRED THEY HAVE FOR THE UDP’S. WHAT CHIRSTIAN CAN SPIT SUCH VENOM. OH THE DEVILS SPEAKS LOUD AND CLEAR. WHEN YOU ARE WRONG YOU ARE WRONG BE HUMBLE MY BROTHER AND NIGEL OR IS IT NIGELA ARE YOU A GAL OR A BOY CAUSED YOU SPEAK WITH BOTH TONGUE. YOU ARE JUDGE BY COMPANY YOU KEEP. I PRAY FOR YOU AND YOUR CORRUPT CHRISTIANITY.

@ Rene, the time I heard a response like that I was in grade school and it was complete with the grammatical errors of a first grader. You probably took all day and felt like a genius when you got done. You are the personification of the mindless minions that these monarchs have created. If you had any intelectual free thought you would have seen what I was really writing about you dim whitted sheep. You are a prostitute to the politician you write in favour of. I weep for your stupidity. As for the people at plus TV I only support them in principle as they represent the other side of our slavery that I despise, organized religion.